House of Hell (book)
|references=400 |authors=Steve Jackson |illustrator=Tim Sell (Puffin/Wizard versions) Vlado Krizan (Scholastic version) |coverillustrator=Ian Miller |year=November 22 1984 |number=10 |ISBN=ISBN 0-14-031831-3 |prevbookp=Caverns of the Snow Witch |nextbookp=Talisman of Death |wcoverillustrator=Nicholas Halliday |wyear=December 2 2002 |wnumber=7 |wISBN=ISBN 1-84046-417-8 |prevbookw=Crypt of the Sorcerer |nextbookw=Forest of Doom |w2coverillustrator=Nicholas Halliday |w2year=June 3 2010 |w2number=9 |w2ISBN=ISBN 1-84831-122-2 |prevbookw2=Night of the Necromancer |nextbookw2=Eye of the Dragon |schcoverillustrator= Robert M. Ball |schyear= August 3 2017 |schnumber= 5 |schISBN= ISBN 1-40718-200-5 |prevbooksch= The Forest of Doom |nextbooksch= The Port of Peril |pufimage= |wizimage= |wizimage2= |schimage= }} :For other uses of '''House of Hell', see'' House of Hell House of Hell is a single-player role-playing gamebook written by Steve Jackson, illustrated by Tim Sell and originally published in 1984 by Puffin Books. It was later republished by Wizard Books in 2002 and 2010, and again in 2017 by Scholastic Books with new illustrations by Vlado Krizan. It forms part of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy series. It is the 10th in the series in the original Puffin series (ISBN 0-14-031831-3) and 7th in the Wizard "Series 1" (ISBN 1-84046-417-8), 9th in "Series 2" (ISBN 1-84831-122-2), and 5th in the Scholastic series (ISBN 1-40718-200-5). Creation A short version of the adventure was first published in issue 3 of Warlock, and titled The House of Hell. It was made up of 185 references and the adventure was altered for the shorter version. The "Fighting Fantasy News" section makes it clear that the adventure (and Caverns of the Snow Witch which preceded it) was always planned as a gamebook and simply shortened and modified for use in the magazine: - pg.4}} Quite a few of the gamebook references were modified from the longer version, the news section noting of the Warlock version that "The rooms have been jumbled, there are some cunning secret passages to find and the important clues are in totally different places." - pg.4 Although his artwork now appears on the cover for The Citadel of Chaos, House of Hell was Ian Miller's first work for the Fighting Fantasy series with Steve Jackson signing him up through approaching Millar's agent at the time (Young Artists).Interview with Ian Miller at the Internet Archive record of Advancedfightingfantasy.com - Retrieved 2019-10-26 Background - Back Cover ("Dragon" Edition)}} The story begins with the player's car breaking down during a rain storm, forcing him to seek shelter in a nearby mansion. Little do they know that the mansion is actually a den of demon worshippers who are preparing an initiation ceremony tonight, and without first knowing so, the player ends up as yet one more potential sacrifice - unless they fall prey to the horrors within the house first. The player's quest to escape the mansion is hampered by the presence of -worshippers and various demons, though not all are entirely hostile. Much of the gameplay involves searching a series of rooms, most of which bears an obscure religious or satanic titles, including the Shaitan Room and the Mammon Room. If the reader is to be successful, they must survive an encounter with the house's Master. How to Survive the House of Hell/Hints on Play *The book in general follows the original rules set down in ''The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (see Game System). *In the Wizard "Series 2" edition, instead of rolling the stats for a character as per tradition in Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, the player has the option of choosing a pregenerated character from three choices (see "Further Notes" below for choices). Unique Rules *''House of Hell'' uses a fear score in addition to the usual scores. Every time the player encounters some particularly disturbing event, they must add between 1 and 3 fear points to the total fear score. Once the character reaches the maximum score, determined at the beginning of the game, they will quite literally die of fright. - pg.12 *The reader is unarmed at the start of the book and suffers a skill penalty of 3 points until they find a weapon. - pg.13 Equipment List The player begins with no equipment or Provisions. Cover and Illustrations .Image taken from [http://www.fightingfantasycollector.co.uk/new_page_36.htm ''Fighting Fantasy Collector] - Retrieved 2019-10-26]] Covers The original cover of the book was designed and illustrated by Ian Miller. When the book was republished by Wizard in 2002 a new cover was designed and illustrated by Nicholas Halliday. Their 2010 edition makes use of a section of the previous edition's cover art. The 2017 edition featured a new cover by Robert M. Ball. Illustrations Puffin/Wizard Editions The interior illustrations were by Tim Sell. There were 30 full page illustrations and 6 minor repeated illustrations scattered throughout the text. The paragraphs with a full page illustration were: 1, 14, 27, 41, 56, 71, 85, 98, 112, 126, 139, 154, 168, 181, 195, 209, 222, 236, 250, 264, 277, 291, 305, 318, 332, 345, 358, 373, 387 and 400. The original edition of the book (and the Warlock version as well as that too was illustrated by Tim Sell) - pg.44 (142) contains an illustration that was removed from subsequent printings. The illustration in question accompanied paragraph 264 and depicted a naked woman (with "artfully" arranged coverage) on an altar with blood on it. The result of the removal of the illustration was that paragraphs 255 through to 263 had to be moved about and spaced by additional minor pictures. Scholastic Edition The interior illustrations were by Vlado Krizan. There were 20 full page illustrations and 6 minor repeated illustrations scattered throughout the text. The paragraphs with a full page illustration were: 1, 41, 56, 85, 112, 126, 139, 168, 181, 195, 222, 236, 277, 291, 318, 332, 358, 373, 387 and 400. The full-page illustrations in the book were accompanied with a caption giving a short extract from the text. Intertextual References Other Media e-Book A Kindle adaptation of the book was produced by Worldweaver Ltd and released in 2012. Film A film adaptation of the book was planned for release in 2012. It was not made. Computer Game An iOS/Android conversion of the book was produced by Tin Man Games and released in 2013. Main Characters YOU: Hero of House of Hell *Franklins - Butler *George - Vampire *Kelnor - Black Priest of the Night/The Earl of Drumer *Mordana - Woman of the House *Orville - Torturer's Assistant *Shekou - Hunchback Locations *Abaddon Room *Apollyon Room *Asmodeus Room *Azazel Room *Balthus Room *Belial Room *Diabolus Room *Eblis Room *Erasmus Room *Mammon Room *Mephisto Room *Mingleford *Shaitan Room *Tuttivillus Room *The House of Drumer Encounters *Bats *Fire Sprites *Franklins *Ghoul *Great Danes *Hell Demon *Humans - Devil-Worshipper/Leader/Man in White/Men/The Master's Servant/White-Haired Man *Hunchback *Invisible Enemy *Skeletons *The Earl of Drummer *Vampire *Zombies Further Notes *The US version of the book, published by Dell/Laurel-Leaf, was titled House of Hades as the word "Hell" can be considered a profanity there. *''House of Hell'' is Ian Miller's favourite cover for the range. *Until the release of Blood of the Zombies in 2012, House of Hell was the only gamebook with a setting on 20th/21st century Earth. Series 2 Additions *Pre-generated player characters: Jack Bates, Norman White, and Carrie Torrance. *10 paragraphs from Eye of the Dragon. Errors *If you go to sleep in the Erasmus Room, you wake up to find a drink by your bedside. However, before you leave that room, it is possible to encounter a Hunchback as he brings you the same drink in a later paragraph! Dedication Puffin Edition To Helen, Martin and Pam - pg.5 Wizard Edition Games Night — to Clive, Ian, Mark, Peter and Skye. May their Dinner Winnerships be few. But always more than mine... - pg.5 Scholastic Edition none See Also *''The Tasks of Tantalon'' Reviews *Reviewed in White Dwarf 66 (June 1985). External Links *Character Sheet - Retrieved 2019-10-26 *[http://www.gamebooks.org/show_series.php?id=11 Fighting Fantasy at Gamebooks.org] - Retrieved 2019-10-26 *[http://www.gamebooks.org/show_series.php?id=12 Fighting Fantasy (Wizard Series 1) at Gamebooks.org] - Retrieved 2019-10-26 *[http://www.gamebooks.org/show_series.php?id=1285 Fighting Fantasy (Wizard Series 2) at Gamebooks.org] - Retrieved 2019-10-26 *[http://www.gamebooks.org/show_item.php?id=47 House of Hell at Gamebooks.org] - Retrieved 2019-10-26 *[http://web.archive.org/web/20050907052035/http://www.fightingfantasy.com/ffb10.htm House of Hell at the Internet Archive record of the old] Fightingfantasy.com - Retrieved 2019-10-26 References Category:1984 books Category:Fighting Fantasy Original Series Category:Fighting Fantasy Wizard Series Category:Fighting Fantasy Wizard Series 2 Category:Fighting Fantasy Scholastic Series